Re: My Revised MAX/MSP Looping/Effects Rig

["Krispen Hartung" <khartung@cableone.net>]

This is a clip of just some of my stream of consciousness playing today, 
which demonstrates the new random functionality of my max/msp system. 
Basically, there are three things going on here, aside from my playing and 
not touching any pedal or the computer the whole time. The three highest 
notes of my guitar trigger random looping (on/off), random effects 
(on/off), 
and random parameter changes of the random effects (on/off). Most of the 
time I am intentionally playing one of those three high notes to trigger 
the 
functionality, after which I let the randomness take over. Other times, if 
I 
play a harmonic that is of one of those high notes, it triggers the 
functionality without my permission, which is sort of cool as well.  
Having 
to manually trigger the functionality gets sort of old after a while, plus 
you have to hear those same three annoying high notes. So, I will just 
randomize the guitar frequency selection of those three functions. Or, I 
just may as well make those three functions randomly turn on and off, 
regardless of guitar note choice. The output probably won't be much 
different.

All in all, it is a lot of fun to play with the system. I'm never quite 
certain what my computer is going to throw at me that I will have to react 
to.  In one passage, it randomly selected a filter effect, and it was very 
intense. I had to react by playing softly.

There are all sorts of possibilities exploring here.

http://www.box.net/shared/fx3p5m74kg (download/play)
http://www.box.net/shared/static/fx3p5m74kg.mp3 (direct mp3)

Kris



>> Well, I finally did it.  In my quest to selfishly spend more time with 
>my 
>> instrument (guitar), more time actually playing, and less time fiddling 
>> with and staring at the damn computer while playing (which looks 
>> absolutely ridiculous in my opinion), I figured out how to have my cake 
>> and eat it too. I just finished my revised max/msp looping/effects 
>> system. I was very inspired by the Boise Experimental Music Festival, 
>> after playing a set before Jeff Kaiser and Andrew Pask (of Cycling 74) 
>> the first night, and a workshop that Jeff did on the many approaches to 
>> using the computer for live performance.  Andrew is actually using a 
>> totally random based max/msp system so he just plays his sax and let's 
>> the computer do everything for him.
>>
>> Long story short, my rig is totally automated now, using a series of 
>> random algorithms to control both my max/msp Kaiser Looper and 
>functions 
>> (everything from my scripts to basic functions like reverse halfspeed, 
>> doublespeed, random speed, random buffer, random pan, etc), and all my 
>> max/msp effect patches and parameters (including Reaktor as a VST), I 
>now 
>> turn my computer on and play. No MIDI footpedals. No expression pedals. 
>I 
>> just plug into my Fireface 400, activate my system, and let the 
>wonderful 
>> world of randomness take over. So liberating! I don't even need to have 
>> my computer screen open.  It's like playing with another person whose 
>job 
>> is to process my sound (like what Evan Parker has done with others), 
>> because I have no idea what sort of looping, effects, or parameters 
>> changes are going to occur. I'm really liking this.  The interesting 
>> thing is that I wasn't satisfied with the standard random object in 
>> max/msp, so I found and used some max/msp abstractions written by 
>> Karlheinz Essl, which simulate Brownian movement in micro-biological 
>> systems. Very fascinating. And of course, I can deactivate the random 
>> function at anytime, so that while I'm playing, if I hear the computer 
>do 
>> something really interesting that I like with the looper or effects, I 
>> turn the random functions off, and it will sort of freeze in the last 
>> state or frame of looping and effect parameters.
>>
>> More later...gotta pack for vacation now.
>>
>> Kris
>